Mainland China is the world's largest consumer market for Chinese herbal medicines, as well as the largest producer and exporter of Chinese herbal medicines, and occupies a pivotal position in the global Chinese herbal medicine market. In recent years, with the improvement of people's health awareness, Chinese herbal medicines have gradually won the trust and favor of consumers at home and abroad with their unique therapeutic effects and fewer side effects.
In this issue, Zhongkang Yunling Traditional Chinese Medicine Industry Data System analyzes the import and export data of Chinese herbal medicines from the General Administration of Customs in the first quarter of 2024.
1. Exports of Chinese herbal medicines have increased and imports have decreased
Figure 1: Import and export volume of Chinese herbal medicines from 2021 to 2024 (unit: 10,000 tons)
In the first quarter of 2024, the mainland's exports of Chinese medicinal materials were 50,800 tons, an increase of 41.3% year-on-year, and imports were 67,800 tons, a year-on-year decrease of 10.4%. Since the further relaxation of epidemic prevention and control measures in the first quarter of 2024, the export volume of Chinese herbal medicines has continued to increase year-on-year, while in terms of imports, due to unfavorable factors such as the off-season and trade protectionism, the import volume has continued to decrease year-on-year from the second half of the first quarter of 2024.
Figure 2: Import and export value of Chinese herbal medicines from 2021 to 2024 (unit: 100 million yuan)
In the first quarter of 2024, the import value of Chinese herbal medicines in mainland China will be 2.991 billion yuan, and the export value will be 2.095 billion yuan, with a significant trade deficit. As can be seen from Figure 2, the mainland's exports have continued to rise in recent years, exceeding 2 billion yuan in Q4 of the first quarter of 2024, while imports are relatively stable, basically remaining at about 3 billion yuan.
2. The import and export of Chinese medicinal materials are mainly medicinal and edible homologous varieties
2.1 Most of the export varieties are spice varieties
Figure 3: The top 10 varieties of Chinese herbal medicines exported in the first quarter of 2024
In the first quarter of 2024, the top 10 varieties of Chinese herbal medicine exported from mainland China include cinnamon, jujube, peppermint oil, etc. The top 10 varieties accounted for 80% of the total export of Chinese herbal medicines, and the export volume increased year-on-year, among which peppermint oil increased the most, reaching 214.6%.
Figure 4: The top 10 varieties of Chinese herbal medicines in the first quarter of 2024
In the first quarter of 2024, the top 10 varieties of Chinese herbal medicine exports in mainland China mainly include peppermint oil, cinnamon, wolfberry, etc. Among the top 10 varieties, the export value of peppermint oil increased the most, reaching 166.6%.
Cinnamon: a unique variety in the Liangguang region. The warm climate, abundant rainfall, and fertile soil in the south provide good conditions for the growth of cinnamon, and the annual production and sales are more than tens of thousands of tons. There are many types of cinnamon products, such as cinnamon powder, cinnamon sticks, cinnamon oil, etc. Cinnamon is mainly used as a spice to add to food products such as bread, pastries, ice cream, etc. At present, cinnamon has a huge land area, plus production, processing, and sales facilities have been relatively mature, and in the medium and long term, the future market is relatively stable.
Peppermint oil: more than 70% is exported to India, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia and other Southeast Asian countries. Most of these countries are located in tropical and subtropical regions, where the weather is hot and there are many mosquitoes, so applying Chinese patent medicines containing peppermint oil such as Qingfeng Oil and Qingliang Oil can produce a cooling sensation or reduce the pain caused by mosquito bites. As a medicinal raw material for extracting peppermint oil, the demand for peppermint has increased in the past five years, and the high price has also stimulated the recovery of domestic production, and it is expected that the market will fall slightly after the new production in 2024, and then stabilize.
2.2 The imported varieties are mainly precious and fine varieties
Figure 5: The top 10 varieties of Chinese herbal medicines imported in the first quarter of 2024
In the first quarter of 2024, the top 10 varieties of Chinese herbal medicines imported from mainland China mainly include longan meat, safflower, licorice, etc. The top 10 varieties accounted for 84.57% of the total imports of Chinese herbal medicines, among which the imports of safflower, fig, cardamom, nutmeg and American ginseng decreased year-on-year.
Figure 6: The top 10 varieties of Chinese herbal medicines in the first quarter of 2024
In the first quarter of 2024, the top 10 varieties of Chinese herbal medicine imports in mainland China include bird's nest, deer antler velvet, sea cucumber, American ginseng, etc., most of which are precious and nourishing varieties. In addition to the increase in the amount of licorice due to the large increase in imports, the larger increase in the number of varieties of deer antler velvet is also replenished, mainly after the price of antler cream skyrocketed, the import volume of deer antler increased sharply, which led to the increase in the import volume of deer antler velvet.
Deer antler: From the perspective of production, the origin integrates breeding, processing and sales, and the production is relatively stable due to the industrialized development model. This product is a high-end consumer goods, basically imported from New Zealand, with many specifications and a large price gap, and the import channels have been controlled by some companies, so it is necessary to pay attention to the timing of their price pulling.
3. The import and export volume of Chinese medicinal materials in Guangdong ranks in the forefront
Figure 7: Provinces and their proportions of Chinese herbal medicine imports in the first quarter of 2024
In the first quarter of 2024, a total of 24 provinces in mainland China will import Chinese herbal medicines, among which Guangdong, Fujian, and Xinjiang will rank among the top three in terms of imported Chinese herbal medicines, mainly importing longan meat, safflower, figs and other varieties.
Figure 8: Provinces and proportions of Chinese herbal medicine exports in the first quarter of 2024
In the first quarter of 2024, a total of 29 provinces in mainland China will export Chinese medicinal materials, of which Guangdong, Guangxi, and Shandong will rank among the top three in terms of the amount of Chinese medicinal materials exported, mainly exporting cinnamon, jujube, wolfberry and other varieties.
Fourth, comprehensive evaluation
1. The main reason for the trade surplus is the consumption season Autumn and winter have always been the peak seasons for domestic nourishing health care and expensive gifts, driving the seasonal growth of imports of nourishing health products such as bird's nest, Korean ginseng, deer antler velvet, and fish gelatin;
2. The sharp increase in the export amount is closely related to the price increase of Chinese herbal medicines In the past three years, the price of domestic Chinese herbal medicines has risen continuously, resulting in a rapid increase in the export value of Chinese herbal medicines, but the actual increase in export volume is not obvious.
3. Make full use of cross-border e-commerce platforms to promote the import and export trade of Chinese herbal medicines With the broadening of cross-border e-commerce channels and the continuous improvement of overseas consumers' awareness and acceptance of traditional Chinese medicine, the growth rate of cross-border e-commerce business of Chinese herbal medicines is obvious, which also provides a new path and market for the export of domestic Chinese herbal medicines.
(Unless otherwise noted in the article, the data are from Zhongkang Yunling)